The present invention relates to manual mail sorting, and in particular to a mail sorting apparatus and method which simplifies and expedites the sorting of uncoded and non-machinable mail matter.
Mail service in the United States has been greatly facilitated by the use of the Zip code, a five-digit code system for mail sorting, distribution, and delivery which uniquely identifies each post office and delivery unit, and associates each with the sectional center or major office through which its mail is routed for delivery. Notwithstanding the implementation of the Zip code system, the U.S. Postal Service has been unable to achieve the goal of next-day delivery. This failure is due in no small measure to the fact that a substantial portion of the mail handled daily by the Postal Service has either no indication of its Zip code or the wrong Zip code. A Postal Service publication entitled "Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations" (January 1979), available from the Government Printing Office, indicates that in first class mail alone, from 3 to 5 billion pieces of mail handled annually by the Postal Service bear either no Zip code or the wrong Zip code. Non-machinable mail, i.e., oversized or bulky pieces which cannot be handled by the Postal Service's automated mail sorting equipment, also presents a problem for the Postal Service since presently there is no effective system for expeditiously directing such mail to its ultimate destination. The Postal Service currently handles between about 6 billion to 10 billion pieces of non-machinable mail annually.
Uncoded and non-machinable mail is problematical in that it requires manual sorting, which is time consuming and rather inefficient, as presently practiced. First, a primary sorting is done which results in bundles of mail which must be transported, with a few exceptions, to individual states, to each of about twenty major post offices located in large metropolitan areas, to foreign countries, or to other miscellaneous destinations. Additional sorting is required to complete the job. Often, as many as four sortings must be performed before a piece of mail reaches its ultimate destination. As is often the case, mail will be transported from one sectional center or major post office to another, passing its ultimate destination one or more times en route, before these several sortings are finally completed.
The sorting of uncoded mail also requires the use of Postal Service personnel who have undergone extensive training to become expert sorters, having the ability to assign Zip codes to mail directed to particular destinations. Typically, it takes years to master the destinations and routes of just one state.
Thus, it takes several sortings and the involvement of an expert sorter before uncoded mail can be forwarded to its destination.
A mail sorting system capable of eliminating one or more of the sortings presently required to direct mail to its ultimate destination would represent a marked improvement over the present system. A system which eliminates the need for trained expert sorters for sorting uncoded mail would also be highly desirable. The availability of such a system would make next-day delivery a more realizable goal.